As was recommended to me, I read J. M. Coetzee’s Disgrace. And indeed it was a good book. Folks seem to like calling Coetzee’s writing “sparse;” and I guess you could say that. I tend to think that writers who are wordy don’t really know what they are trying to say. What comes through with Coetzee is that he has a keen and deft mind. Anyway the book
takes place in South Africa and the main character, David Lurie, is a selfish womanizing asshole, so I identified with him pretty well. Through the events of his life we are presented with angles on race, gender, class, sex and generational differences; as well as relations between Lurie and Byron, an old goat, and a crippled dog. But you don’t need to get any of that to enjoy the writing, empathize with the characters and be challenged by them as well. It is a book that can be read by anyone, and everyone who reads it likely gets something good out of it. So I’ll pass on the recommendation to y’all as well.